Flight - Sherman Alexie

zits is a fifteen year old orphan. his father, an indian, left his mother "like a cruel magician" during zits' birth. his mother, irish, died of cancer when zits was still a kid. passed around from foster home to foster home zits is trying to come to terms with his heritage, trying to understand both sides of his ancestry. however, life hasn't been easy and although some foster homes have been better than others, many have been downright abusive, and something always happens that makes zits leave. zits wants the world to stand up and take notice of him, to acknowledge his existence, and to this end plans to commit a massive act of violence. however, something stops him, and instead he is taken on a spiritual journey into the past where he lives the lives of an fbi agent in the 1970s in red river idaho, an indian child during the battle of little bighorn, an indian tracker in the 19th century, an airline pilot, and a homeless indian man. these past lives culminate in zits developing an understanding of the person he actually is. a powerful and disturbing story that is both hilarious and painful to read, like "the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian", "flight" is another excellent contribution by alexie.